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Congerton said: “I actually signed a contract with Metallist Kharkiv in Ukraine after leaving Hamburg to go and work with Frank Arnesen again but the civil war started.

“Maybe I would have been better going into the civil war than going to Sunderland!

“It’s a marvellous club and I enjoyed working there with some wonderful people but they were bottom of the league when I arrived and we twice managed to stay up.”

Congerton’s old gig is a major talking point right now. The title might have been tweaked but the Welshman was a director of football at Sunderland – with Rangers in the market to fill a similar position.

Congerton worked with former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat at the Stadium of Light

Congerton believes it’s more about people than job titles, which is why he’s delighted to be reunited with Brendan Rodgers , more than a decade after they worked together under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.

He said: “It’s always about people in any business. Whatever you want to call it, it works in every country in Europe – France, Spain, Italy, Germany. The only country it’s frowned upon is in the UK.

“You have Txiki Begiristain at Man City doing a great job and Michael Emenalo at Chelsea. I worked all my career to be a sporting director so to walk away from it there must have been a number of factors that weren’t correct.

“It was my choice but the sporting director for me is very important for the medium to long-term strategy of the club unless you have a chief executive like Peter Lawwell, who I think is doing a marvellous job here.”

Congerton worked alongside Frank Arnesen at Chelsea (Image: Getty)

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Congerton was scout at Stamford Bridge before leaving with director of football Frank Arnesen to head to Hamburg. Within weeks the president of the German club was gone and the budget needed to be slashed by £20million a year.

The goalposts were moved and the grand plans abandoned. Ukraine then Sunderland came calling as did the step up to sporting director on his own.

It was a rollercoaster at the Stadium of Light with Gus Poyet going, Dick Advocaat coming in then departing and ending up with Sam Allardyce having his own ideas about the structure.

Congerton decided to go and he’s back on comfortable ground heading up recruitment – and he insists there is no doubt about who’s boss at Parkhead.

The new head of recruitment has known Brendan Rodgers from a young age (Image: Getty Images)

He said: “You get lost in this. We go on about this director of football role and who has authority in terms of communication.

“At the end of the day there’s only one person who can pick the team and that’s the manger, the head coach, whatever you want to call it.

“It’s clear – Brendan will come to us with certain profiles but there are certain things we want to have in place for many years to come.

“Hopefully we can keep that if in a decade Brendan moves on.”

Celtic are hoping to unearth the next Moussa Dembele (Image: SNS Group)

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The Rodgers factor was key in Congerton’s move to Scotland and the scout revealed the pair go back even before their Chelsea days.

They played against each other as kids for Northern Ireland and Wales and were on the same coaching field trip to Barcelona back in the day.

They went down separate routes in the game but remain firm allies and it was the Hoops boss who persuaded the talent spotter to try his hand in the toughest of markets.

He said: “It’s extremely difficult but we all love a challenge. It would have been a lot easier for me to go somewhere else because I had other opportunities.

“But actually I’m motivated because of that challenge and to work with Brendan again. If you don’t like a challenge then you shouldn’t be here or be in football.”

Celtic are hoping to recruit players fit for the Champions League (Image: Daily Record)

Rodgers got his man and although he may have a reputation as being modern-minded and a data analyst recruiter, he insists he’s much more hands on than that.

He said: “I like to smell the grass and see the player.

“Scouting is not about ‘I’. It’s about the team.

“That’s the feeling, what I love. It’s my passion. When I watched Son for the first time you could see he was an athlete, with right foot, left foot, power. There were other people involved in that process. It’s not about ‘I’ without a shadow of a doubt.”

Congerton will scour the globe but he won’t ignore what’s under Celtic’s nose. He said: “Our priority is always going to be Glasgow and Scotland but we have to be prepared that there are players anywhere at any time.

Congerton was crucial in unearthing Hoops star Scott Sinclair

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“I like the compensation route that Moussa Dembele took. That’s quite attractive but if a player is good enough and within our financial means and fits the profile we’re looking for then we will try and get him.”

Congerton admitted Rodgers attracts players – but so does the club. He said: “Even to youngsters, Celtic is massive.

“We’ve got a story in place which is taking shape with Moussa Dembele and that story isn’t finished yet. To go and play in front of 60,000 passionate Celtic supporters is not easy, even if you’re one of the best talents in the world.

“That’s very attractive for any young player, have they got the mental strength and the expectation level to handle that.

“The one thing we want to do is continue to dominate Scottish football and that is one thing that we can hopefully do with a young, vibrant team.”